Dr. Ionut Tranca is a Research Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He works in the field of computational material science in the Department of Chemistry (DSCH), Algemene Chemie (ALGC) – Materials Modelling Group. He received his PhD degree in Computational Condensed Matter Physics from the RWTH Aachen University, for his work on molecular electronics performed at Research Center Juelich (2012). Afterwards, he joined the Computational Chemistry/Modeling groups from Bonn University and Eindhoven University of Technology, and since 2022 he has been part of VUB. His research focuses on Green Energy generation and storage, Catalysis, Astrochemistry and Biochemistry, exploring topics such as water splitting, hydrogen storage, carbon dioxide capture, heat and electrical batteries, and kidney stones formation. He employs multiscale modeling, machine learning and supercomputers to understand the laws and properties of the relevant chemical and biological systems investigated. He has served as the leader or co-leader of the local unit for several Horizon and nationally funded projects. Besides research, he is also actively involved in teaching and mentoring. While at TU Eindhoven he coordinated and contributed to the creation of MSc courses, which are now offered across 10 universities.
